Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has welcomed the Centre’s move to elevate the Naga peace talks to the ministerial level and reaffirmed that the Nagaland Government will continue to act as a facilitator in the process.
Addressing the 80th Independence Day celebration at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat Plaza on Saturday, Rio said the people of Nagaland continued to yearn for an early solution to the Naga Political Issue.
He welcomed the recent constitution of a committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India, to lead the Naga peace talks.
Rio said the State Government was grateful to the Centre for responding to the request of the people and civil society to elevate the ongoing dialogue and peace process to the ministerial level.
He reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment to facilitate the process towards an early, honourable and acceptable solution to the longstanding issue.
Recalling the broad-based Consultative Meeting held on September 12, 2024, Rio said the meeting had brought together tribal hohos, civil society representatives, mass-based organisations, church bodies, NGOs, student bodies, political parties and other stakeholders.
On Eastern Nagaland, Rio reiterated the State Government’s support for the region’s aspiration for an arrangement in the form of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA).
Acknowledging the historical developmental disadvantages faced by Eastern Nagaland, he pointed to the February 5, 2026 Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Government of India, Government of Nagaland and Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation for constitution of the FNTA within Nagaland.
Describing the agreement as a historic milestone, Rio congratulated the people of Eastern Nagaland and assured them of the State Government’s fullest cooperation and continued support for the early constitution and operationalisation of the FNTA.